And they always lost, right? Yes and no.

When the Globetrotters and Generals played, there were certain conventions about when the competition was real and when was it not. So, the Generals always played serious offense. And they played serious defense, too, except when the Globetrotters went into one of their famous routines; then the Generals were expected to stand by and let the routine unfold for the amusement of the crowd.

The Generals actually beat the Globetrotters six times, while losing more than 13,000 games. The essay I read detailed the last victory of the Generals, which occurred on January 5, 1971, in what is remembered* as an overtime game in Martin, Tennessee. The Globetrotters could have elected to go into a comic routine and prematurely end the game, but chose not to do so. Instead, they played the end of the regular game and the overtime period straight up, losing 100-99 when Red Klotz scored the last basket of the game. This victory ended the 2,499 game winning streak of the Globetrotters, which makes the streaks of the UCLA men's college team and the UConn women's college team look rather paltry.

Some watchers booed. Others cheered. Regardless, what the Washington Generals had done has to number among the largest upsets in sports history.

This upset is a feel-good story of the first magnitude - despite the boos of some of those present - and should hearten all of us who would most certainly play for the Washington Generals of life and not for the Harlem Globetrotters.

But this is not why I am writing about the story. Red Klotz was quoted extensively in the essay I read. Now 89 years old and retired, he has a philosophy born from his decades with the Washington Generals that we should all consider seriously.

First, Red Klotz always played to win. Obviously, this did not necessarily mean coming out ahead on the final scoreboard but rather by bringing out the best in the opponents. Winning by the Generals meant making the Harlem Globetrotters play hard, with passion and with joy. My goodness, can we imagine what Congress would be like if the opposing "teams" there construed winning in this way?

Second, for the Washington Generals and Red Klotz in particular, playing well meant playing the roles assigned to them. One of the famous Harlem Globetrotter routines is to yank down the pants of an opposing player. On every tour with the Globetrotters, Red Klotz took initial pants duty, as it apparently was called, and he had his pants yanked down thousands of times. Again, imagine what the rest of the world would be like if leaders voluntarily took on pants duty before asking those they lead to do the same?

Third, although some reports said that Red Klotz got in trouble for beating the Globetrotters on that day in 1971, he disagrees. "It has never been our job to lose," he says. "It is the Harlem Globetrotters' job to win."

Finally, Red Klotz did what he did because he loved playing basketball. He had been a high school star in his native Philadelphia, but he was too short to succeed at the conventional next levels. Nonetheless, he played the game longer and in more places than anyone. He scored more points than Wilt, or Kareem, or Michael. Joe Posnanski thinks that Red Klotz should be in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, and I heartily agree. Will he make it? Probably not, but if you ask me, he is already in the Hall of Fame of the Good Life.

The day after the Washington Generals last beat the Harlem Globetrotters, they played again. And the Generals lost. Badly. The Globetrotters were sharper than ever. At the end of that game, Red Klotz looked around, and he saw that the crowd was happy.

In the words of Joe Posnanski: "It was the damndest thing. His team had won again."

* The details of the game are apparently a bit fuzzy, but not its eventual outcome.